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Joseph McCann trial: Woman used vodka bottle to 'end rape ordeal'

Met Police Joseph McCannMet Police
Joseph McCann is accused of 37 offences against 11 victims

A woman smashed a vodka bottle over a man's head to bring an end to her 14-hour rape ordeal, a court has heard.

The 25-year-old victim said she used "logic" rather than "courage" when she hit Joseph McCann in April.

She was snatched just after midnight on 25 April as she walked home in Walthamstow, east London, and repeatedly raped, the Old Bailey heard.

Mr McCann, 34, from Harrow, denies 37 offences against 11 victims, including children.

While still holding her captive in a car, Mr McCann allegedly kidnapped a second woman from a street in Edgware, threatened to "slit her throat" and sexually assaulted her.

The women managed to escape and run towards builders near the Phoenix Lodge Hotel in Watford, Hertfordshire, the court heard.

Mr McCann was captured on CCTV at a petrol station

In a videoed police interview, the victim said Mr McCann told them "I'm going to put my arms round you and you need to smile", before ordering them out of the car at the hotel.

Instead, the woman grabbed a vodka bottle and hit him over the head, she said, then ran towards builders shouting for help and saying she had been kidnapped.

She added: "I ran up to one of them and said 'I need your phone, I need your phone' but he didn't understand me.

"I ran up the road and a man said 'come in here' and I went into the shop.

"As soon as I got into the shop I started just crying and I could not believe that I was in there.

"I turned round to look out and I saw the car drive away. I thought that meant he had driven away with her so I told them she was there."

She told police her attacker was white with blue eyes and had a "weird" Irish accent.

He wore a white rosary and had tattoos, including one that said "bobbie", she said.

In court, the 25-year-old said of the attack with the vodka bottle: "It was not about courage. It was about logic, the best time to incapacitate him."

Under cross-examination, defence barrister Jo Sidhu QC suggested both women had got into McCann's car "willingly" and engaged in consensual sex.

The witness repeatedly denied it, saying she was terrified of Mr McCann.

Mr McCann is charged with the following offences between 20 April and 5 May

  • Ten counts of false imprisonment
  • Seven counts of rape
  • One count of rape of a child
  • Two counts of causing or inciting a person to engage in sexual activity without consent
  • Seven counts of kidnap
  • One count of attempted kidnap
  • Three counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
  • Three counts of assault by penetration
  • One count of sexual assault
  • Two counts of committing a sexual offence with intent

The trial continues.